Village play park chooses recycled plastic play equipment for exciting upgrades

The brief

Parks play an important role in brining communities together through play and the village of Buckland Monachorum is no exception. The play park is the only public green space in the village and so it is always busy with children and families. Some of the old, well-loved play equipment was beginning to look tired and therefore needed an upgrade.

The parish council wanted to explore alternatives to wooden play equipment as wood is often prone to rotting in the West Country climate and it gets very slimy in winter.

The plan

The parish council opted to replace the rotten wood climbing frame with a premium quality multi-user climbing frame made from recycled plastic that was packed with play value. It included exciting play features, such as three play towers, monkey bars, fireman’s pole, slide and scramble net.

The result

As the play tower proved such a success, when other pieces of equipment needed replacing, the parish council opted for new items from the same range of high quality, long lasting play equipment, including: multi-swings, a balance trail and play train for the younger children. Recycled plastic was the perfect low-maintenance material for the picnic table and bench that were added for people wanting to picnic in the park.

There is a fantastic sense of community spirit in the village – on one occasion, locals volunteered to help the installation team lay the rubber mat safer surfacing in a bid to make budgets stretch as far as possible. More recently, a new all-weather pathway has improved accessibility to the play equipment and the children continue to be delighted with their improved play space which sits at the heart of this thriving rural community.

Cllr Susan Woollacott recognises the importance of sustainable procurement:

“The parish council is always looking for sustainable options as we know that every development project has an impact on the environment and therefore we are pleased to be able to use recycled materials where possible in play and landscaping projects. Here, the problem of plastic waste has been turned into a positive – as the recycled plastic posts on the play equipment do not rot, the park will be fit for many more years of play, so it represents excellent value for the public purse.”